Dispensing device



March 3, 1942. w. H. MARTENS DISPENSING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledOct. 19, 1940 March 3, 1942. w. H. MARTENS DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Oct.19, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Flm9 WILL/441 BY Wig/RIMS AE F ORN M PatentedMar. 3, 1942 UNHTED ST DISPENSING DEVICE William H. Martens, Seattle,Wash.

Application October 19, 1940, Serial No. .361,8 83

5 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved sanitary dispensing device and isparticularly provided with means for receiving and dispensing sanitarysheet tissues. The use of tissue paper for handkerchiefs or for dryingor cleansing the skin, as

when complexion creams and cleansing creams are to be removed, has growngreatly with the improved methods of manufacturing such anabsorbent'tissue and the consequent lowering of the sale price.

The majority of the tissues provided on the market are delivered to theconsumer in a paper carton which -is designed to dispense the tissues.

However, the exterior of a ma-jority of these cartons is provided withadvertising matter and may be placed, and from which e. sheet, -one at atime, may be withdrawn with facility.

A further object of my invention has been the provision of means in sucha dispensing container of maintaining :a quantity of folded sheetsclosely associated with the dispenseropen-ing of the containerso that atall times the quantity of contained sheets will .be properly positionedin avertical arrangement.

A still further object of the invention has been the provision of aspring-pressed follower for automatically compensating for the tissuesas they are withdrawn from the container.

Another object of my invention has been the provision, in a dispensercontainer forinterfolded or stacked absorbent tissue sheets, of means00- operable with a spring-pressed follower mechanism, to withdraw thefollower mechanism, and

also thedevice may have means 'for holding the follower mechanism in aninoperative position during such period as the container is being 1.

charged with a fresh supply of tissue.

Still another object of my invention has been the provision-of latchmeans cooperable to hold the follower member in its operative pbsition.

Still .a :furtherobject 10f my invention has been the provision in acontainer of means for receiving used tissue, which, after a certainaccumulation has been reached, may be easily removed for the disposal ofused tissues from the container.

A further and an important object of the in vention residesin theprovision of a crank member for withdrawing the follower member from theurgen'ce of the spring, so that the container can be easily and handilyrecharged with a quantity of absorbent tissues.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appearby reference tothe following specification and the accompanying drawings, wherein Ihave illustrated the container embodying a selected form of myinvention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of the containerillustrating the component parts thereof,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an auxiliary container used inconnection with my invention,

Figure 3 is a perspectiveview, as though from the rear, of thespring-pressed follower plate and the mechanism associated therewith,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a quantity of theabsorbent tissue of the type employed in my invention,

Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view through the containerillustrating the manner of hanging it on a wall or other surface,

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view disclosing the interiorarrangement of the container when a quantity of absorbent tissue isprovided therein,

Figure 7 is a similar vertical sectional view illustrating the generalinterior appearance when the follower plate is withdrawn against theurgence of its spring,

Figure 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view as though looking downupon the container and is taken on line 8-3 of Figure 6, and

Figure 9 is a similar longitudinal sectional view disclosing aslightlymodifiedform of my invention.

Thenumeral ill designates the rear wall of a container having end wallII, a bottom wall [2,

.and a front wall It having a dispenser opening In the container shownin the drawings I provide the intermediate spacer wall l5 which forms asecondary chamber 6 for the reception of an auxiliary removablecontainerIT as illustrated in Figure 2. The auxiliary container I1 is insertedinto the chamber l6 and may be withdrawn therefrom by means of the thumbnotch l8 provided in the front wall [3 of the container.

The container device includes a. chamber 2| adapted to receive on edge aquantity of tissue sheets folded in the usual manner. Chamber 2| isclosed by the lid 24 hinged at 25 which may be opened as shown inFigure? to permit access to the interior of the container or closed asshown in Figure 6 to afford a neat appearance to the container.

A spring-pressed follower plate 20 is fitted into the chamber 2| and hasend flanges 22, 22 which are slotted as at 23, 23. The length of theplate 20 is approximately that of the length of the chamber 2| and theheight of the plate is substantially the same as the depth of thechamber 2|.

A quantity of tissues, such as is shown in Figure 4, may be placedbetween the front face of the plate 20 and the inner face of the walll3, so that the edges 26 of the tissues 21 are positioned in substantialalignment with the opening |4 through which the sheets may be withdrawn.

To the plate 2|] I secure curved, contractible leaf springs 28, 28, asby means of the rivets 29, 29. The springs 28 may have the curved orupturned end 30 to reduce friction when they are in operation in thecontainer. The ends 30 of the spring are normally positioned against therear wall Ill of the container and the springs constantly urge the plate20 forwardly in the container.

A crank comprises arms 3| and 32, the longitudinal crank member 33 andtrunnions 34 and 35. Member 33 is inserted in the slots 23 in theflanges 22 and the trunnion 34 is mounted for pivotal movement in thewall |5 in the container. The trunnion 35 is also pivotally mounted inthe container in wall Attached to the trunnion member 35 is theoperating lever 31, which may be angularly disposed to the plane of themember 32. Lever 31 is useful for rotating the crank about its trunnionand causing the crank member 33 to cooperate with the slots 23 towithdraw the follower plate to the position shown in Figure 7, whereuponthe angularly disposed lever 31 assumes the position indicated by thedotted lines.

A stop lug or knob 38 may be provided on the outer face of the wall Dueto its natural resiliency the lever 31 may be pushed or snapped past lug38 and by this abutting relationship retain the follower plate in thewithdrawn position.

The wall may extend above the general height of the remainder of thecontainer and have holes 40, which are useful for engaging hooks 4| thatare secured in the wall or surface 42 to suspend the container.

In Figure 6 I have illustrated the rear wall ID of the container asbeing provided with an opening 50. A resilient hook 52 has therearwardly bent portion 54 passed through the opening 50 and the tongue55 is secured against displacement under the keeper 56. Such hooks 52may be provided single or in pairs and will have a resiliency permittingthem to be engaged over the head or foot of a bed, the arm of a chair orany other convenient structural edge so that the contained tissue willalways be handy for use.

Referring now to Figure 9, leaf springs may be secured to the innerfaces of the walls H and I5, and these springs are indicated by thenumerals 43 and 44 secured to the walls II and I respectively. Thepurpose of springs 43 and 44 is to retain the plate 20 in the rearwardposition during such periods as the container is being charged with afresh supply of folded absorbent tissues. The springs 28 are thus heldflexed against their normal urgence.

To charge the container, the follower plate is placed in the position ofFigure 7 and a quantity of the sheets are removed from the box orpackage in which they are delivered to a purchaser. The sheets are stoodon their longitudinal edges in the chamber 2| between the inner face ofwall l3 and the follower plate. Then the follower plate is releasedagainst the urgence of the spring to compress the sheets in thedispensing chamber. Normally this release of the follower plate isaccomplished by dislodging the lever 31 from behind the stop lug or knob38, but it may also be accomplished as shown in Figure 9 by compressingthe springs 43 and 44 against the walls II and I5 respectively, thusfreeing the plate from the latch action against the ends of the springs.

As tissue is desired it may be withdrawn by grasping the .end 26 andpulling the sheet through the opening l4. As one sheet is withdrawn thespace that it occupied is displaced by the forward movement of thefollower plate and progressively as the chamber 2| is discharged ofabsorbent sheets the follower plate automatically compensates therefor.

My device is useful for dispensing the interfolding type of cleansingtissue sheets as well as that which is merely folded and piled instacks. The opening M in the front wall of the container is shown asbeing elongated substantially the length of the chamber 2|, but havingsemicircular or semi-ovate ends, so that only in a portionof its face isthe full length of the sheet exposed. This manner of forming the slot isextremely useful to resist accidental slippage or dislodgement of thebody of sheets in the con-- tainer and to hold them smoothly against thepressure imparted by the follower plate 20.

Ordinarily the absorbent sheets are of soft material which permits themto be rufiled or crumpled as they are withdrawn without injury. Thecurved restrictions of the slot at its end tends to prevent theaccidental removal of more than one sheet at a time by reason of thefirm manner in which the body is held against its following pressure.

Whether the container is full or nearly empty makes no difference in itsoperation because of the body of sheets within the container are alwaysfirmly held against the inner face of the wall I3 and stretched more orless tightly across the opening l4. As the sheets are used they may bedisposed of by being placed in the container H which is removable fromthe chamber I6. After a sufiicient quantity of used tissue hasaccumulated, the container may be emptied into any suitable disposalmeans that is convenient for such use.

While I have described my invention in connection with the ordinarysoft, absorbent tissues that are commonly used, it is to be understoodthat my invention is equally serviceable for the dispensing of papertowels, paper napkins, paper cups or any other type of article that maybe stacked or piled one upon the other, changes and alterations in thestructures described in the foregoing specification may be made withoutdeparting "from the spirit of my invention and from the scope of thesubjoined claims, the same being construable as broadly as possibleconsistent with the state of the art.

I claim:

1. In a dispenser container designed for dispensing sheet material orthe like, which container is generally rectangular and has a bottom,front and back side walls and end sections that are joined together todefine the walls of a box having the general form of a right rectangularprism, said box forming a chamber for the reception of a quantity ofstacked sheet material to p be dispensed, one wall thereof having anintermediate elongated dispensing slot, a follower member positioned insaid chamber between the rear portion of a pack of sheet materialdispensed therein and the back wall thereof and having rearwardlydirected end flanges each having a longitudinal slot, springs engagingthe rear Wall of the box for urging the follower member against the packof sheet material, a crank journaled in the end sections of saidcontainer and having its throw member disposed in the slots of the endflanges of the follower member to permit the withdrawal of the saidfollower against the urgence of the springs, and a lever associated withsaid crank for swinging it in its journals.

2. In a dispenser container designed for dis pensing sheet material orthe like, which container is generally rectangular and has a bottom,front and back side walls and end sections that are joined together todefine the walls of a box having the general form of a right rectangularprism, said box forming a chamber for the reception of a pack of sheetmaterial on edge to be dispensed, one wall thereof having anintermediate elongated dispensing slot, a follower member positioned insaid chamber between the rear portion of a pack of sheet materialdisposed therein and the back wall thereof, said follower member havingleaf springs secured intermediate of their ends to the follower memberand having their free ends disposed against the wall of the chamberopposite said slotted side wall, said springs urging the follower memberagainst the pack of sheet material, a crank journaled in the endsections of said container and having its throw member coupled to thefollower member to permit the withdrawal of the said follower againstthe urgence of its springs, and a lever associated with said crank forswinging it in its journals.

3. In a dispenser container designed for dispensing sheet material orthe like, which container is generally rectangular and has a bottom,front and back side walls and end sections that are joined together todefine the walls of a box having the general form of a right rectangularprism, said box forming a chamber for the reception of a pack of sheetmaterial on edge to be dispensed, one wall thereof having anintermediate elongated dispensing slot, a follower member positioned insaid chamber between the rear portion of a pack of sheet materialdisposed therein and the back wall thereof, a spring resting against therear wall of the box for urging the follower member against the pack ofsheet material, a pair of arms each journaled in an end section of saidcontainer and coupled to the follower member to withdraw the saidfollower against the urgence of its springs, and means associated withsaid arms for swinging them in their journals.

4. In a container adapted for dispensing material sheet by sheet fram apack of folded sheets disposed on edge, a follower plate having apressure face substantially equal to the size of the pack of material tobe pressed, slotted end flanges on said plate directed away from thepack of material being pressed, means including a crank passed throughsaid slots for withdrawing the follower plate from said pack, and meansoperable against a wall of said container for constantly urging saidfollower plate against said pack.

5. In a container adapted for dispensing material sheet by sheet from apack of folded sheets disposed on edge in said container, a followerplate having end flanges directed away from said pack of sheet material,expansible means operable against a wall of said container urging saidfollower plate toward the pack of sheet material, and means coupled tosaid end flanges for withdrawing the follower against the urgence of theexpansible means.

WILLIAM H. MARTENS.

